The next day, Bato brought you guys back to the ship.
"This ship is sentimental to me," he said, "It was built by my father." You stared at the boat and its design. You felt a quick gust of breeze, and turned your head to see Aang walkin back over to you. Then you saw a trail of dust behind him. You quirked a brow at him.
"What were you doing?" You whispered.
"Nothing, nothing at all, why would you suspect I was doing something, ha ha, you're funny Y/n!" He smiled before walking past you. You stared after him, brows furrowed.
"What's ice dodging?" Aang joined in on their conversation.
"It's a rite of passage for young Water Tribe members," Bato explained, "When you turn 14, your dad takes you--you know what?" Bato placed a hand on Sokka's shoulder.
"You're about to find out."
~
Bato took all of you out onto the sea in the ship, explaining ice dodging to Aang, Katara, and Sokka. But instead of dodging ice, they'll be dodging a cluster of stone rocks.
"Well, good luck you three," you said, sitting down.
"You're not partaking?" Bato asked. You shook your head.
"No thank you. I'll leave that honor to them." You replied, crossing your arms.
"For this to be done right, I cannot help," Bato said, sitting down next to you. "You pass or fail on your own." You took a deep breath and felt the water underneath you, zenning yourself into a meditative state. Even when the boat jerked, your body stayed still, able to maneuver with it. Through your meditation, you could feel something dark creep up inside of you. Something malicious. You opened your eyes and the feeling went away. You looked around and saw that you were sailing on smooth waters. Nothing could've triggered that feeling.
~
You docked the boat and were standing on the beach. Bato had a bowl of paint in his hand. He dipped his finger into it.
"The spirits of water bear witness to these marks," he said, "For Sokka, the Mark of the Wise--the same mark your father earned." Bato painted the mark on Sokka's forehead.
"For Katara, the Mark of the Brave. Your courage inspires us. And for Aang, the Mark of the Trusted."
You watched his body language as he received the mark.
"You are now an honorary member of the Water Tribe."
"I can't," Aang said.
"Of course you can," Katara replied. Aang wiped the paint off.
"No. You can't trust me," Aang pushed, backing away.
"Aang, what are you talking about?" Katara asked. Aang looked at you, and you looked at Aang. He then reached into his shirt.
"A messenger gave this to me for Bato," Aang explained, pulling out a ball of paper. Katara grabbed it and unwrinkled it. "You have to understand. I was afraid you wouldn't--"
"This is the map to our father!!" Sokka yelled, "You had it the whole time?! How could you?!"
"Sokka, Aang just--"
"Well, you can go to the North Pole on your own. I'm going to find dad." Sokka turned and walked away.
"Now Sokka, I think you should--"
"Katara, are you with me?" Sokka interrupted Bato. Katara turned to look at Aang and you looked at her.
"I'm with you Sokka," she replied. You and Aang watched as the three of them walked off, leaving you two behind.
"Come on," you said gently, "We should get going." He nodded and walked behind you.
~
Later that day, you and Aang were on Appa, ready to go. The others were packing up right in front of you. Bato and Sokka moved on without acknowledgement. Katara, however, walked up to you.
"Good luck," she said.
"Okay. You too," Aang replied. You just waved. She then walked out of the abbey with the guys. The Superior then walked up to you.
"Guess we should be moving on," Aang said, moving around.
"That would be best," she replied. Aang led Appa out of the abbey too. You could see the three of them going down a different path.
"I'm an idiot, Y/n," he said, pulling Appa in the opposite direction.
"I'm not justifying or excusing your actions..." You trailed off, "... but you were scared of being abandoned and in the end, you fessed up."
"Yeah, at the cost of my friends and their trust," he argued. You placed a gentle hand on his shoulder.
"They'll come around."
"You don't know that."
"... I do."
~
You guys arrived back to where the ship was docked.
"Looks like we're going alone, guys," he said to you, Appa, and Momo. You nodded.
"Avatar! You must leave!" The Superior suddenly appeared.
"Okay, I get it. Everybody wants me gone," Aang replied.
"A group of people came to the abbey looking for you," she warned.
"Who?" You inquired.
"A fierce-looking woman with a horrible monster and a young man with a scar."
You and Aang looked at each other.
"Zuko," he said.
"The beast was using the scent of an eyepatch to follow you," she continued.
"Eyepatch?" Aang repeated questioningly. You then grabbed Aang's arm.
"We have to get to the others," you said hurriedly.
~
You and Aang were above the abbey. Soon, the shirshu burst through the gates of the abbey, smelling your scent. On the back of it was a paralyzed Katara and Sokka.
"Those idiots," you muttered. Iroh, Zuko, and June were sitting on its back as well. When it looked up, you launched towards it. Using your water, you whipped it under its chin. The beast stood on its hind legs, throwing everyone off. Not able to keep its balance, it fell over. You and Aang landed on the ground next to it. June and Nyla recovered, running after you again. This time, though, Appa arrived and headbutted the lighter Shirshu into a building. Then Zuko appeared.
"I got this Y/n," he said. You nodded and backed off. You can't fight all of his battles for him. As the two faced off, Zuko's fire and Aang air collided, creating an explosion. The both of them went flying onto opposite roofs. Ignoring them, you ran over to Sokka and Katara, kneeling next to them.
"Y/n!" Katara said. You shushed her and brought your water out, healing the open wound on the back of their necks. You hauled both of them up to lean against the wall. You then grabbed the backs of their necks. You closed your eyes and took a deep breath out. Slowly, you removed your hands, and the toxin that was left came through their skin. The two of them writhed a little bit, but it was over soon. With Appa now paralyzed, Aang was fighting off Zuko and June by himself.
You ran over to a large container of perfume and smelt it. Then you grimaced. Then you smirked.
'If that thing sees with its nose...'
You broke the container with your foot, letting the contents spill out. You bent it up into a folding wave above them. Then you moved your arms down. The perfume came down in between them.
Almost immediately, Nyla began to grow erratic at being blinded. It threw June away, hitting both her and Zuko with its tongue, before running around sporadically. Then it jumped over a building and ran away.
~
After that whole fiasco, you and the others were on Appa, riding away into the sky.
"So... where do we go?" Aang asked nervously.
"We're getting you to the North Pole," Katara replied.
"Yeah, we've lost too much time as it is," Sokka added.
"Thought y'all wanted to see your father?" You asked.
"Of course we do Y/n," Sokka replied, "But Aang and you are our family, too. And right now, you need us more." You blinked at him before covering your face with your hand.
"Woah, you okay?" Katara asked gently. You nodded.
"Yeah, sorry," you replied, pulling yourself together. "I just... didn't expect to be included."
"We of course you are, silly," Katara said, "We wouldn't be here if it weren't for you and your help." You looked at her and smiled.
"Thank you, you two."
"Oh Y/n," Aang said. You turned to him.
"Yeah?"
"I... wasn't sure if you wanted this still, but..." He held out your mother's eyepatch.
"Where did you get that?" You asked, taking it from his hand.
"Zuko asked me to be sure I got it to you," he replied teasingly. You smiled, even though you knew he was joking.
"How sweet of him," you said sarcastically, "I should thank him the next time I see him."
Okay, so to clear any misconceptions—your mother gave you an eyepatch she had to cover your golden eye. You have heterochromania—a blue eye(Water Tribe) and gold eye(Fire Nation). You'd be recognized easily with your two colored eyes, so you've hidden one, to pass off as a Water Tribe member.
Ja ne!
{Ruby Red}